You may think hobbies are only for kids or retired folks, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The truth is hobbies are for everyone, and they’re super important to your overall well-being!
First and foremost, hobbies give us time to ourselves to do something we enjoy. It’s a great way for us to recharge our batteries and fill our cup back up for our busy lives, work weeks, and tasks ahead. Things that we need to do as our lives get busier.
Studies have also shown that having leisurely activities you enjoy doing in your free time leads to many physical and mental health benefits, and improves your overall well-being.1 Hobbies lower your stress and cortisol levels, especially if your hobby is a physical activity like dancing, running, or yoga. You’ll also find yourself with lower levels of depression as well as higher levels of positivity and contentments.
Another thing that doing something you enjoy helps with is discovering a passion and gaining confidence in yourself. Hobbies often give us something to work on and master over time, thus developing confidence in your mind and/or body’s abilities. Having a passion in life is a huge help in making it through difficult times.
Last, but not least, working on a hobby in your free time promotes creative problem-solving skills which can improve your work life. It also can build a sense of community if you’re doing the activity with someone else or a group of people—such as group workout classes, art classes, hiking groups, singing and dancing with your best friend, etc..
Now that you know why hobbies are so important and effective, let’s get into 3 practical tips for finding one for yourself!
If you don’t make time for hobbies, or exploring them, you’ll never find yours. This tip may seem obvious, but so many people say they’re ‘too busy’ and don’t have time to do a leisurely activity. But the truth is, hobbies are just as important as other aspects of your life and need to have time carved out for them.
The good news is that you don’t have to spend hours on your hobby to make it count or reap the benefits. Starting small like 10 minutes a day or an hour a week can still do wonders for you and your life. See the benefits in the section above.
In order to make time for these activities, try adding them to your calendar like you’d pencil in a work meeting, picking up the kids from practice, or running errands. Another tip is to take multiple small breaks throughout your day to enjoy your hobby. For example, every 2 hours take a 5-minute break to go for a walk outside in nature, play a song on the piano, or read a chapter of your book.
If you’re sitting here reading this and thinking “but I don’t have any hobbies or anything I enjoy”, you may need to kickstart your brain by trying new things. This is kind of a sample platter approach where you try a little of everything (physical movements, creative arts, meditation, mind activities, etc.) to find what you end up liking and what you can and want to stick with.
Below, you’ll find a list of many ideas for hobbies. Note, this is definitely not comprehensive, but hopefully it at least gives you a place to start and some new things to give a try! You could also ask friends or family members for some ideas of things they like or that you could test out.
Kids naturally find activities they love and pursue them. Yet, as we grow up, we somehow and somewhere lose that. So…what if we got it back? As an adult, hobbies can be things we loved to do as a child but haven’t done in a while—either out of not enough time, forgetting about it, or simply growing up.
Did you love to play with playdough as a kid? Maybe you’d enjoy pottery or some sort of craft now as an adult. Did you play sports? Find an adult sports league or get your body moving today. If you enjoyed playing games, get your friends together for a game night. And, if you loved to play pretend or make up stories, try writing fiction or poems as an adult.
The point is, we often don’t lose our childhood interests, we just forget about them. Maybe the key to unlocking your present hobby dilemma is found in your past!
Hobbies are important things to make time for no matter who you are or what stage of life you’re at. We hope you learned something new about the importance of hobbies or picked up a new tip to try and find an activity for yourself.
And if you’re struggling to enjoy life or find things you enjoy because of something going on in your life, we’re here to help with that too. We can connect you with a caring individual who is ready and wants to listen, talk, and be there for you. Click below to get connected today.